Not An Insult
by Qweb
Summary: When she and Chin are attacked, Kono proves that "you fight like a girl" is not an insult.


_A/N: Bet you didn't think I could write a story with no Danny in it. Not that he doesn't get a mention or two._

**Not An Insult**

Five-0 Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly and his cousin Officer Kono Kalakaua weren't expecting trouble, even though they weren't in the best part of town.

With their latest case concluded, they had come to tell a grieving mother that her son had died trying to do the right thing. It was small consolation, but Five-0 had caught the killer, breaking up a smuggling ring at the same time.

Surrounded by friends and family, the woman thanked them with great dignity and assured them she appreciated their consideration. After a cup of tea and an obligatory piece of coconut cake, the cousins left the ohana to its grieving.

So many people had come to support the mother, that Kono had been forced to park her little red Chevy three blocks away, but it was a nice afternoon to walk. (Hey, it was Honolulu. You expect nice weather.) The streets were empty, because most of the neighbors were at the gathering. Chin and Kono turned into the alley where they had parked.

From the corner of his eye, Chin saw movement. He flinched away and that saved his life, as the swinging baseball bat just clipped his head instead of crushing his skull.

He fell headlong. Kono cried his name and grabbed for her gun, but two men were behind her. One grabbed her, his big paws gripping her slender arms. The other snatched the gun from her holster. The man holding Kono was a towering, muscular hulk of indeterminate Polynesian extraction. Kono's head barely reached his shoulders. The other was a tall but skinny Asian with greasy black hair and a face like a weasel.

Kono forced herself to stand still, controlling her desire to struggle for freedom, waiting for the right moment to strike.

The man with the baseball bat was mixed Hawaiian blood, not as tall as the man holding Kono but with broad shoulders, a thick neck like a bull and a fierce expression of hate on his face. All three of the men wore incongruously cheerful flowered Hawaiian shirts, board shorts and slippers (what haoles called flip-flops). They weren't dressed for trouble, but they looked happy to cause it.

The man with the bat planted his toe in Chin's side, kicking the half-conscious man over onto his back. A trickle of blood running down his temple, Chin moaned. His eyes were glazed, but open.

"Ikaika," Chin recognized the suspect.

"Kelly," the Hawaiian man replied coldly. "Imagine my surprise when I saw you strolling along in my neighborhood. You remember what I told you?"

"Payback," Chin gasped.

"Payback for my brother who you killed."

"He was an armed robber." Chin's voice was steady, but weak.

"He was my baby brother," Ikaika said grimly, then he grinned. "I meant to finish you off, but I'm just as glad I didn't. Now I can take my time. I'm going to break you into little pieces, one bone at a time, then I'm going to kill your pretty little partner, before I finally put you out of your misery."

"Don't," Chin begged, but his eyes were on his cousin. He wanted her to run, but he knew she wouldn't. She just smiled at him — a very McGarrett smile. Despite his injuries and his peril, Chin couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Kono cringed back just a little, as if she was afraid and helpless; but she was as helpless as the fast burning fuse of a bottle rocket.

Kono was the rookie in Five-0. As such, it was her duty to learn. Navy SEAL Steve McGarrett taught her that anything can be a weapon — herself included. Five-five Danny Williams showed her how to turn a height disadvantage into a benefit. And her cousin Chin, back when she was a keiki taking her first lessons in self-defense, taught her no matter how big the bully is, you can always reach his feet.

Ikaika raised the baseball bat.

Kono giggled, drawing incredulous stares from all the men and freezing Ikaika halfway through his swing.

"Sorry, stray thought," she said, with a dismissive flip of her fingers. "I was just wishing I'd worn my spike heels instead of these boots."

""Wha…?"

The bottle rocket exploded into action. Kono slammed her booted heel down on her captor's sandaled foot, grinding down on his bare toes, even as she shoved the sharp point of her elbow back, driving it low into the conveniently positioned groin. The towering hood gave an unmanly "eep" and dropped her arms to clutch himself.

Kono stepped away toward weasel-face. Her car keys slipped through her fingers until she held just the keychain. She whipped the keys across like a flail at the other man's face and then backhanded across his wrist, sending her gun flying from his fingers. He yelped and jumped back, a mask of scratches around his eyes.

"Come on, ladies," Ikaika said impatiently, slapping the bat on his beefy palm. "She's just one girl."

"I really hate it when men use 'ladies' as an insult," Kono commented. She wasn't even breathing hard.

The two henchmen were tough. Already recovered from the shocking attack — though the hulk was limping — they moved on Kono as a team. And they were mad!

They were angry, but Kono was cool. She feinted at the big man's groin again. When he involuntarily lowered his hands protectively, Kono punched him hard in the diaphragm, knocking the wind out of him. Without pausing, she spun and kicked the skinny guy in the belly, driving him back with a "whoof."

"You fight like a pair of girls," Ikaika harangued his friends.

"'Girls' is not an insult, either!" Kono yelled.

She pivoted as if about to strike weasel-face with her clenched fist, but instead side-kicked Ikaika in the chest. The baseball bat dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers, falling toward Chin's face. Kono caught it in midair.

Ikaika quickly leaped over Chin to get inside the range of Kono's swing, but she skipped back. Ignoring Ikaika, she punched forward with the bat instead of swinging, knocking the off balance weasel to the ground. Kicking him in the head as she passed, she choked up on the bat in the Danny Williams' Jersey grip (guaranteed to get a hit, patent pending). She swung at the gasping hulk's head. As Danny promised, the Jersey grip didn't give you homerun power, but it gave you total control. Kono smacked the big man in the head, putting him down, but still wheezing and obviously alive.

With the two henchmen unconscious, Kono turned back to the boss and found Ikaika holding her gun.

"Bitch!" he growled. His finger tightened on the trigger.

But he'd forgotten his original victim lying on the ground behind him. Chin was still dizzy, but he'd gotten a little strength back. His foot lashed out and caught Ikaika behind the knee.

The man's leg buckled. His shot went wide. Then Kono was on him, baseball bat swinging left to hit one shoulder with a crack of shattering bone, then reversing to smash the other shoulder. Ikaika dropped to his knees with a moan, both arms immobilized. Kono put him out of his misery with a boot to the jaw.

The "girl" stood victorious over the three larger men. She huffed a breath of triumph, then dropped beside her cousin and helped him sit up.

"Are you all right?" she asked anxiously.

"My head's spinning," Chin replied. "But I'm not sure if that's from getting hit or from watching you in action. You are a lady killer — a lady and a killer!"

Kono smiled and went to handcuff the two henchmen while Chin got out his phone to call for backup.

"Maybe I went overboard," she admitted. "But I was worried about you and I hate it when guys use feminine words as insults."

Chin regarded the fallen trio moaning in their sleep. "I'm pretty sure they won't do it again," he said. He levered himself carefully to a sitting position and looked down as Ikaika blinked open bleary eyes. "She beat us?" the big man asked incredulously. "All three of us?"

"That she did," Chin agreed. "Now don't you wish you fought like a girl?"


End file.
